Tag Archive: The Society for the Advancement of Consulting

My business partner and co-Executive Director of the Society for the Advancement of Consulting, Linda Popky and I just held our Annual Meeting in New York City. Our association provides growth by association for consultants, coaches and speakers across the globe. Although this is our tagline, it is much more than the typical marketing tagline. It is how we operate. Every decision goes through this filter. So, we were especially thrilled to have launched our first annual Advancing Consulting Awards to recognize the best of the best in an emerging category and an established category.

We are thrilled to recognize Amy Segami from Chicago, IL (Emerging) and Andrew Hollo from Melbourne, Australia (Established) with the awards (pictured with the Awards Committee and co-Executive Directors). The core criteria included client success, growth by association, innovation and resilience. Andrew’s comments were particularly noteworthy when accepting the award: In essence, he said what was most meaningful is that he was selected by a group of top notch peers. Isn’t that what we all want?

One Tip to Implement This Week:When I think back to the awards and recognition I’ve received that are most meaningful to me, I realize Andrew was completely correct. A short compliment in passing by a respected peer is more meaningful than an elaborate ceremony most of the time. Of course, I wouldn’t turn away both! With that said, when I was nominated for the Community Builder Award by NAWBO earlier this year, this fact was absolutely true. They do the awards ceremony in a BIG way in my neck of the woods. Yet, what was most meaningful was being recommended by a top notch executive, being supported by a friend and APICS Board member colleague and being cheered on by a client. What else can you ask for?

Are you taking the time to think about recognizing your peers? Who has been particularly helpful lately? Most likely it is someone you take for granted but couldn’t survive without! Why not tell them something specific about what you appreciate? Stop running for a minute to think about who you should recognize.

Lately, I’ve had quite the mix of on-site and remote events. So, it got me thinking about on-site vs. remote. Which is better?

Manufacturers’ Summit – I introduced the innovation awards and announced the winners at the recent Manufacturers’ Summit. Could this be done effectively remotely? In my opinion, no!

Global Strategy Session – I also recently participated in a short check-in session with my global growth group. After resolving my video difficulties so that I wasn’t blurry, it worked out perfectly. There is no reason I should go across the world for 3 hours!

The Society for the Advancement of Consulting – My business partner, Linda Popky (in Northern CA) and I have participated on multiple Zoom calls with members from the U.S., Canada, Europe and the Pacific Rim to collaborate on increasing member value and related topics. We find these to be ideal remote settings yet we also have in-personregional andglobal events. You might find me sitting in my car prior to a client meeting on a Zoom call with Australia & Germany.

Client workshop with facilities across the U.S. and Canada to implement planning process upgrades – the reason I write this from Minnesota in sub zero temperatures is that this workshop is best done in person. With that said, we have weekly interactions remotely to implement successfully in-between these workshops (which occur about every 6 months). Since MN was chosen for March, perhaps AZ will be in August 🙂

ERP Demos – since I currently have severalERP selection projects, I have participated in several demos. Some need to be done in person to ensure project success and others would be a waste of time to attend in person. It depends!

Aerospace & Defense speech – the picture shows that clearly I presented in person. Although they record the session for members to listen to afterwards, the value is far more significant with in-person interaction!

One tip to implement this week:Don’t just assume remote or in-person is always better. The answer is: “It depends”. If you are bringing together cross-functional participants in a workshop-like setting, perhaps you should invest in travel to get together. On the other hand, if there is an expert who can participate remotely to contribute as needed, that also can be value added and cost effective.

Don’t just do what you’ve always done. I used to drive 60+ miles each way to clients for a few hours frequently. Sometimes it was exactly what I should have done. Other times it was because I defaulted to doing what I typically do. Then one day, I tried to call or do the meeting via Zoom, and I realized the value was equal yet the wear and tear was now non-existent! Thus, I always ask myself about what will achieve the desired outcome. Sometimes remote is better. Other times, in-person is better. Use common sense.

Assuming you decide to test out the remote option, there are a few items to keep in mind:

Act as though you are sitting in a meeting, and don’t allow distractions to take over.

Make sure you keep ambient noise down

Use video to your advantage so that you can show each other items or emphasize your communications with non-verbal language.

Test out technology in advance

Just give it a try. What’s the worst that will happen?

And, keep in mind that in-person still provides value. The higher tech we become, the higher level of touch required!